Despite falling short to Zimbabwe on Saturday, United Arab Emirates (UAE) captain Esha Oza expressed her satisfaction with the level of cricket being played in the ongoing tri-series at the Wanderers Sports Ground in Windhoek.
The UAE, Namibia’s T20 Capricorn Eagles and Zimbabwe’s Lady Chevrons are competing in the nine days tri-series in Namibia which is aimed at improving ICC rankings.
On Saturday UAE played their second match of the tri-series of which they lost by three wickets but had earlier secured a seven-wicket victory over the host nation, the Capricorn Eagles.
Reflecting on Saturday’s match, Oza noted that her team started strong but lost focus as the game progressed, ultimately allowing Zimbabwe to capitalise.
“I think we started off well and played well, but in the process, we lost control of the game. We couldn’t build a solid partnership, and that’s when Zimbabwe took the game away,” she said.
Oza also commented on the previous day’s match against Namibia, praising the Capricorn Eagles for their challenge.
“It was a great game, and Namibia gave us a tough test, but we managed to come out victorious and collect maximum points. I believe that gave us a huge motivation for the start.”
Regarding the overall level of competition, Oza expressed admiration: “It’s amazing to compete in such a tournament with great teams. This will enormously benefit all participating teams, and I believe we’ll all leave with valuable lessons.”
Zimbabwe captain Chyedza Dhuru shared similar sentiments after her team’s victory.
“We faced a few challenges at the start, but our bowling gave us a strong foothold, which left us needing to chase 94 runs a total we felt confident with. I also believe this is a great competition, as it helps us prepare for bigger and better tournaments,” she added.
The tri-series tournament started on Friday and will run until 14 September.
Namibia played Zimbabwe yesterday while they return to the field today at 14h00 as they take on UAE in their third match of the tri-series
-mkambukwe@nepc.com.na